While deep-rooted, racial motive in the Georgia shooting has not been explored due to the absence of symbolic and/or verbal affirmation, dismissing race as a factor ignores the impact of blaming a race or even a country for the pandemic rather than specific actions or individuals.

Instead, the shooting surfaces a long-overdue conversation surrounding anti-Asian violence, largely produced by this same hateful rhetoric. Researchers call this language the “Trump effect,” says founder and director of demographic data and policy research nonprofit AAPI Data, Karthick Ramakrishnan.

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